Travel journalism suffering from self-inflicted credibility issues

Travel bloggers and magazine writers mostly write about trips that are paid for by destinations and travel industry suppliers. Few of these writers, however, ever mention that their reporting is the result of vacations that have been paid for by the very places they are writing about. Now Travel + Leisure magazine is taking this to the next predictable level by charging travel agents and tour operators to be on their A List. Can an A-list be an A-list if you have to pay to be on it? That’s the question facing the travel advisor industry today after Travel + Leisure announced it would charge $4,000 a pop to those who want to be on its “A-List” of top travel agents.Veteran A-Listers recently received a letter, announcing a move to a membership-based system. The magazine said the fee would come with additional benefits, including a dedicated page on the Travel + Leisure website, and promotion on social media channels.